May Mangroves

 Written by Frances Hancock

Two community working bees were held in Mangere Bridge during the month of May, focusing on an annual weeding of mangrove seedlings along Kiwi Esplanade. This is done to maintain our views of and access to the harbor.

Friends of the Farm co-ordinated the working bees, in partnership with Mangere Bridge Residents and Ratepayers and with support from Auckland Council, who supplied bags and gloves and arranged pick up of the mangroves.

We were lucky enough to have fine, mild weather on both days - perfect for the task at hand.  Set up was at 9.30 am and we were finished by 1pm.  We established a base at the Mangere Boat Club and most people came and registered here first and received instructions on health and safety, before being directed to a patch.  We encouraged people to work in small groups for comradery and to maintain safety, as well as to make it easier to see the difference we were making with our efforts. Friends of the Farm organisers went along the esplanade to check progress, ensure health and safety, offer assistance and answer questions. The boat club provided a wash down area for people to use at the end.

39 people gathered for the first working bee, working for a combined total of 90 hours and collecting around about 68 bags of mangroves.  The second working bee also attracted 39 volunteers, who gathered 45 bags in a total of 88 hours - a huge amount of volunteer time!  All in all, we fairly well cleared most of the seedlings along the waterfront from the old bridge to the farm, with only a few spots remaining.

Many of the volunteers have done working bees before, but it was also great to see new residents in the area wanting to get connected and make a difference.  Chris and Suzie Lockett from A1Cuts used their van and trailer to collect the bags of mangrove seedlings along the esplanade, which they delivered to the boat club for collection by Council contractors.  Janine and long-time volunteer Darren, from the Farm, were responsible for set up and clean up and as usual did a stellar job.  Jon Baulcomb from the boat club opened up bollards on the esplanade to enable easy access to the foreshore where people were working. Thanks also to Kara at Council for supporting our efforts.

There were some tired bodies at the end of the day, as it was sometimes difficult trawling through the thick heavy mud.  As a group, we’ve developed a good system of organisation and were better at focusing on defined patches so we could really see a difference at the end of our efforts.  Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers for your work!